That 70's class
by Naie Black
Summary: Beatles, firewisky, freelove, war, peace, Queen, protest, revolution, before the Golden Trio there were The Mauraders, before the youngest seeker in a century, there was the youngest animagus in a century, before The-Boy-Who-Lived there was James Potter and before the DA there was the Hogwarts class of 71
1. Preface

So I've been known not to finish story's and I'm not even gonna try promising regular updates but I can promise that you're gonna enjoy the chapter every time I update. In other news, I'm gonna need a beta so if anyone knows a good one who's a Lily/James fan (more like an expert fan) and doesn't hate Snape then please review or pm me

Full Summary: The Beatles, firewisky, free love, war, peace, Queen, protest, revolution, before the Weird Sisters there were the Soul Seers, before the Golden Trio there were The Mauraders, before the Death Eaters there were The Knights of Walpurgis, before the youngest seeker in a century, there was the youngest animagus in a century, before The-Boy-Who-Lived there was James Potter and before the DA there was the Hogwarts class of 71. This is the story of four boys, how they became brothers, and who they changed the course of the world in the meantime.

Disclaimer: I wished

* * *

The Marauder's story is a tragic one but it's also one full of love and friendship. It's a story about four boys, four brothers, and how they destroyed each other intentionally or unintentionally. They saved each other from their respective demons but they weren't supposed to fight them alone.

Peter was not the only one responsible of the Marauder's downfall; Sirius and Remus contributed by suspecting each other, James and Lily isolated themselves albeit by necessity. One way or another, they were doomed the moment they stopped trusting on each other; Sirius stopped trusting Remus' loyalty, Remus stopped trusting Sirius' allegiances, James stopped trusting his own judgment, and Peter stopped trusting them on keeping him safe.

But before all that pain, there were four boys and a whole bunch of people who knew them; not the War Hero that died for his family, not the Prisioner of Azkaban, mass murdered, not the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, lonely werewolf, not the rat, the Death Eater Traitor, but the Marauders, the four Gryffindors who had brilliant futures ahead of them.

There were good times, there were bad times, there were The Dark Days, and there were The Untouchable Days. In the end, the only days that would matter for the world would be their last ones, their generation would never forget them, but without anyone alive to keep the memories, how would the next generation even know? They would never hear the story of the Marauders, pranksters extraordinaire. They would never know of the four boys who brought a school, a generation together. Almost everyone with a story about them had died in the span of twenty years.

Their friendship wasn't supposed to break. Once it did, they all suffered horrible, sorrowful, and depressing fates. Their worst nightmares became true. James was unable to protect his loved ones, Sirius was swallowed in darkness, Remus was alone and rejected, and Peter would never feel safe again.

The war tore them apart and they didn't even notice until it was too late.

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I'm not ven gonna ask for reviews, just a few nice alerts would be fine


	2. The Day McGonagall Would Come To Regret

Thank you! Three reviews and even a favourite, I so happy :D I'm still trying to find a beta, last chapter was written on my iPhone and as you may have seen, it could have been better but oh well maybe I'll go back and edit it someday, same with this chapter 'cause my laptop is being mean  
Funny (not fun) fact, I was going to do what almost all marauder era ff do and start with a scene at King Cross but it took an unexpected turn

Guest: thank you! :) the summary was the first thing I thought about XD  
nedermg: I tried to keep the last chapter fast paced but I guess it did came out a little rushed, idk light hearted writing doesn't come too easily for me, I'm more of an angsty dramatic writer XD but it's a Marauder era fic so I have planned pranks an lots of fun stuff and music, music is important... but that's for latter  
ImRandom: Thanks :D I'll try and thank you to anyone who took the time for reading my ff

Lastly, this story will have time skips, it may not make a lot of sense right now but it's kind of a necessity btw I'm trying to do this as canon as possible so feel free to point out any mistakes or inaccuracies no matter how small

Disclaimer: If I owned the HP universe I wouldn't have killed Sirius, well maybe but I would have waited until the last book

Enjoy!

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_August 13, 2017_

_The Oracle_

_The Real Heroes, The First Ones_

_"...I don't know much about their time, I know the facts and I know what the books tell us but there are not many survivors and we can't be sure how much they suffered, they might not have had to sleep in the woods and hide from the MOM itself, but I reckon they had it pretty bad..." Dean Thomas._

_*.*.*_

"Damn Lochte" muttered the man through clenched teeth as he closed the gash in his side for the fifth time. _It should have closed by now. _He had experience with cursed injuries, hell he could probably be considered as an expert, being "playmates" with a werewolf wasn't easy. _It should have healed by now. _And he _knew _what that meant, he tried not to think about it but he couldn't deny it. _I'm weak and I've lost too much blood, it wont be long now. _Indeed, it wouldn't be long before he collapsed and _then _it would be long before the bastards caught up.

"Damn Lochte" he repeated, if he hadn't opened his bloody mouth, if he hadn't been so bloody stubborn, _sodding Lochte_, James wouldn't be in this situation.

It had been an uneventful day for the Aurors, which was rare because the Death Eaters had been causing havoc in sunny days like this one. Sirius Black and James Potter were tired, for them, a day of paper work was worse than a day full of Death Eaters. Both wanted nothing more but to head to the flat they shared and call it a night or maybe watch one of those wonderful black and white muggle movies, relax on the couch and take a glass of firewisky...

"Lochte! Anderson! It's time for your stake out" yelled Moody approaching to one o the desks at Sirius's right.

"Anderson called in sick today he has the flu, he'll be back tomorrow" said Lochte while he grabbed his coat

"The flu! Aurors are NOT allowed to have the flu! ARE YOU ALL LISTENING?! Next one to call in 'sick' will be doing paper work for a week!" Yelled Moody to all the Aurors in the room whom costumed to his outbursts murmured a weak half-hearted "sure", "yes" or "right boss" and two cheeky "like hell I'll do paperwork again!".

"And he or she will be training the rookies! For a MONTH" added Moody in the same tone. The response was immediate, the whole room answered with a solemn "YES, SIR!"

"That's more like it. Potter! Black! Get ready you're doing stake out!"

"Already on it!" chorused the two purebloods. Both have managed to get their special 'Marauder Stake Out' bags before Moody even addressed them.

"You're letting them go? But Jo and I have been on this group for weeks!" protested Lochte.

A "Though luck" and to badly concealed snickers were the only answer he was given.

"But... but... we've been waiting for this opportunity forever!"

"What do you want me to do? I'm not sending you alone" Moody's voice was dripping with sarcasm, he was starting to lose his patience (he didn't have much to begin with) but Lochte obviously had a death wish because he continue to argue.

"Besides they won't know what to hear for, they don't know any the codes this group uses or how to get past the wards." added Lochte in a desperate attempt to help his case.

James and Sirius shared a look, they didn't _need _to know how to get past them. You see, most wizards didn't bother with anti-animagus wards, in fact, James and Sirius have failed to found any wizard house with those, well except Moody's but everyone knew he was paranoid. They particularly enjoyed stake out because they could practically spy through the windows without the Death Eaters noticing and they could talk or something like it (communicate anyway) without triggering any alerts or raising suspicions while they were on their animagus forms. And for the codes, well let's say that Death Eaters weren't exactly know for their intelligence.

"Please, as if Death Eaters had the brains to remember code words. Lochte are you sure that 'old owl' didn't in fact meant old owl?" taunted Sirius, he was getting restless

"I told you that was an actual code word! They were talking about the man who passed them information!" defended Lochte "See? They can't take anything seri..." "ha! I AM..." "... Ugh" gave up Lochte before having to listen to the same punch line again.

"I told you, I'm not sending you alone. And that's final" growled Moody, yep there goes the last ounce of his patience.

"I don't want to go alone, but why can't I go with someone else?" Lochte begged.

"But Lochte, what would Anderson say when he learns you've been cheating on him?" said Sirius to which James added a "such a heartbreak" while shaking his head as if disappointed.

"That's it! Potter! You're going with Lochte. Black! Paperwork. For the rest of the week."

The Marauders tried to protest and they might have managed to convince Moody to send them instead of Lochte had they had the chance to speak but Moody decided he had had enough, after all, it had been a paperwork day even for him.

"Save it. I've had enough of you two. Specially you Black, I've told you, the two of you: You get cocky,..."

"... you get killed" interrupted the two troublemakers.

"We know Moody, but..." tried James

"I don't want to hear it anymore! Potter you're going with Lochte and you're going to like it! And that's final!"

"Oh so _now _it's final" risked Sirius

"TWO WEEKS!"

James missed his bag, he had been forced to leave it because it contained certain items that weren't exactly legal (let's say they were in a grey area) but he didn't want Lochte making any questions. In the haste of getting ready he had only managed to bring his wand and his mirror, he didn't even get his coat because he wouldn't need it as a stag.

_Damn Lochte_

"Sirius Black" called James into his mirror

"Prongs, everything alright?" James heard Sirius voice before seeing him

"What the fuck happened to you! Are you ok? That was a stupid question, I'm coming to get you, where are you?" James could see Sirius leaving his food and snatching his wand. O_nly Padfoot would be eating at 3:00 in the morning_

"Somewhere in the woods surrounding the Lestrange Manor, but Padfoot they've got him"

_We're not leaving anyone behind_. They both new it; it was like a voice in their heads that sounded suspiciously like Mr. Potter. When they had joined the Aurors and when they had joined the Order, it had been an unspoken agreement.

"Damn Lochte" muttered Sirius

*.*.*

James Potter would never qualify as an average bloke; when he was a baby he had the most spectacular albeit weird manifestations of accidental magic (turning his mother into a gigantic mouse, making all the house stairs turn into slides, you get the picture); he had been born with a silver tongue and had mastered the art of sweet talking (also known as bullshiting) his way out of trouble by the time he was four, he discovered his passion for troublemaking or as he liked to call it "funmaking" even before learning how to walk (and when he did learned how to do that, his mother was more terrified than proud); when he was a toddler and a small child he would, like many others his age, get lost in Diagon Ally but he would, unlike many others his age, befriend the shopkeepers and by the time he was found by his almost-infarted-mother a great amount of sweets and various curious artefacts could also be found in his possession; when he was eleven he befriended another pureblood by the name of Sirius and the last name Black and while this wasn't the most unusual occurrence in the life of our dear James it was regarded as highly improbable as the Blacks and the Potters had been Slytherins and Gryffindors respectively and not exactly friendly, rivals for as long as the collective memory of the Wizarding World went (which was a lot by the way); when he was twelve he discovered his roommate Remus Lupin was a werewolf and again managed to surprise the world albeit in secret by accepting and not even fearing him; when he was thirteen he jumped of the astronomy tower in a misguided attempt of impressing the not-exactly-impressed-redhead Lily Evans without breaking a bone (the secret of it is until this day guarded fiercely by The Mauraders in case anyone gets any ideas); when he was fifteen he became the youngest animagus in a century, shame he couldn't proclaim his success, followed suit by his brother in everything but blood and not so suit by his friend Peter Pettigrew all this while he took over being Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team; when he was sixteen he saved his sworn enemy of a certain death risking his own life and while it's an event better left unmentioned for more reasons that I or anyone else care to explain, its acknowledgment is necessary to mention for the narrative porpoises of this story because that's where it begins.

He had his flaws but most where willing to ignore or oversee them as long as they had the chance to associate with the Grand James Potter. He was stubborn but he wasn't blind, he was confident but he wasn't pompous, he was loaded but he wasn't pretentious, he was independent but he wasn't arrogant and at the same time James Potter was a blind pompous pretentious arrogant. In the end the best way to describe him was as a contradiction, a walking paradox as one Mr. Moony would say.

It could be easily deduced that James Potter was meant for greatness and destined for bigger unintelligible-for-lesser-wizard things. They had no idea.

Some could argue that James Potter wasn't exactly sane but rarely any of the great ones are, at any rate it has been established that James Potter could never qualify as an average bloke and never in his whole life had this bothered James in the slightest, actually he revered in it, he loved the rush, the fun, the challenge that everyday in his crazy life brought but today while he sat in the top of the Astronomy Tower more alone than ever James Potter wished for the first time in his life just to be normal.

*.*.*

Some like to tell their story starting by the day they met, some like to go even further backwards and talk about their upbringing and their expectations for their Hogwarts careers, other prefer to skip all that and launch straight into the action that were their last years of school and of adulthood. But we'll start this story in a seemingly random day, a day so crazy that it can only be described as the day the Marauders were formed.

James and Sirius were walking through one of the most populated Hogwarts corridors. _No, they're strutting, _thought Severus. As if they owned the place. They were just two firsties for crying out loud! _No one _was allowed to be considered cool as a firstie.

Those two idiots had the whole castle mesmerized. Just because they're Gryffindors. They wouldn't last, soon everyone would realize that were just another two arrogant purebloods. _Just wait._

Said purebloods had indeed impressed most of the Hogwarts population, they had hit it off in the train and were sorted into the same house, after that they had proceed to, in lack of better words, take over Hogwarts. They were funny, shameless, with silver tongues and sharp wits. The lost so much points for doing little pranks to the Slytherins (throwing dung bombs to their cauldrons, a tripping hex heard and there) but they won at least the same amount by being absolutely brilliant in their classes. They stood up for Peter Pettigrew, their roommate, who was a little plump kid with a stutter, the exact definition of the victim the Slytherins and other mean kids loved to taunt and bully (Sirius and James might had too, had Peter not been a Gryffindor). Their fellow first years considered them cool, and their upper-class considered them cute, two little troublemakers with golden hearts.

As they reached the Great Hall with the intention of having breakfast they noticed they were late again, almost all the spots at the Gryffindor table were taken and most of the food was gone. James nudged Sirius in the ribs pointing two seats near the staff table. They sat down and saluted almost everyone. Almost.

"All the good food is gone!" cried an undignified Sirius.

"Well we would have been here earlier if someone hadn't been so reluctant to wake up" growled James, he was not a morning person.

"Are you going to eat that?" Sirius said to the sandy-haired boy at his left who he realized was his roommate Remus Lupin.

"You don't even greet me and you're asking to eat my food?" asked the boy with a raised eyebrow.

"Only if you're not eating it." responded Sirius cheerfully.

Lupin glared at them; clearly they represented a threat to his food.

Before Black could try to steal food from Remus again, a little voice from James' right called their attention "I… I... sa-ve… saved… you some" It was their little roommate whom they have rescued from the Slytherins' claws yesterday.

"Peter" James remembered "er... thank you, you didn't have to" James and Sirius looked at each other _I'm hungry, he has food_ Sirius shrugged.

"Thanks" chorused both boys before wolfing down their respective breakfasts.

"C'mon we'll be late if we get lost again" said James rising from his spot. They had taken four steps before turning hesitantly.

"Oi Peter are you coming or what?" decided James in the end.

The boy didn't need to be told twice, he left the remainings of his breakfast and quickly followed the other two boys with a huge grin adorning his round face. Little Remus Lupin sat alone finishing his breakfast. He had asked a prefect to help him get to classes. _I'll get friends too, soon. _He thought with a pang of jealousy.

Thanks to the prefect, _what was his name again? _Remus had been the first to arrive to the potions class. He took a seat at the front but not on the first row; nobody liked sitting on the first row besides, it wasn't exactly the best place to make friends.

Gradually the classroom began to fill; Potter, Black _and_ _Pettigrew_ came in last laughing at some joke. They got another chair for Peter and seated at the back which Remus thought was strange, the back was usually the harder place to sit; everyone wanted to sit there. It seemed as if the places had been saved specially for them, it actually made sense: there hadn't been a place for Peter.

Professor Slughorn gave them the instructions and said something about a reward for the best potion; he wasn't really paying attention.

Remus tried to concentrate on his work and ignore them but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. Peter had seemed like a good kid, timid and a little bit weird; he kept sniffing everything before touching it with more than two fingers, but otherwise alright. They had talked and laughed through the feast, seated together for the first week and Remus thought he had found a friend, his first friend. But he had been abandoned in favour of two better prospects. He couldn't blame Peter, not really, because he had tried; he kept asking, talking and talking, and _what is your favourite sweet? Which Quidditch team do you support? Want to play some Exploding Snap? _Well it was more of a _Wha-what… is you…your fav-our… favour-it… sw-it?_ but Remus just listened and give small, most times one-worded answers. He supposed Peter had gotten tired of it.

He turned his head to look at them unconsciously; Sirius was doing the potion, Peter was talking, with or to who, he didn't know, and James entertained himself by throwing random ingredients at Snape's potion while he wasn't looking. He found it weird Peter love to talk so much, people got annoyed at his stutter but James and Sirius didn't seem to mind, or maybe they were just ignoring him.

He looked down at his own work. It looked ready to explode, only Snape's potion looked worst… wait a second. Remus turned around again and observed James carefully this time; the things he was throwing at Snape's cauldron weren't random, he picked them, measured them, and waited for the best chance to throw them; he knew exactly what he was doing. Snape was getting desperate, he didn't know what he was doing wrong and the redhead at his side _Laila_? Was trying to calm him down. Remus took a look at the ingredients James had lined up, ready for throwing and realized his plan. It would explode but only until it had driven Snape crazy.

Remus couldn't let it happen, but he also couldn't exactly tell the teacher. He had no way to probe his theory, James and Sirius would definitely be mad and who knew how they would retaliate? He would probably be classified as a telltale and all his chances at getting friends would be gone, besides it wasn't like Snape would even appreciate it, he would probably just sneer at him and tell him he didn't need his help. But still, Remus couldn't let it happen.

He got an idea, he could try and fix Snape's potion without him noticing and if James realized Remus knew he would be charged guilty if Snape's cauldron exploded, he might even stop trying, hopefully, he didn't look the sort to give up.

He measured and mixed creating his "antidote", he grabbed it and stood up from his seat (everyone was distracted either working or chatting, even Slughorn was talking to a couple of Slytherins). He walked casually past Snape's table and poured his antidote in. He returned to his seat feeling accomplish when Snape's cauldron started bubbling.

_Oh, oh. _He should have remembered that he was terrible at potions.

BAMM! Snape's cauldron exploded.

BAMM! Oh he would need to buy a need cauldron.

BAMM! BAMM! BAMM! BAMM! BAMM! Apparently, antidotes in the making were extremely flammable, who knew?

Everyone was covered in green slimy stuff from the head to the toes.

James and Sirius were rolling on the floor (as much as the sticky stuff allowed them) laughing. Some people panicked and started screaming that it burned, but Professor Slughorn was splattered too. He called for order and sent everybody to wash up before dealing with Snape.

"I'm sorry Mr. Snape but I will have to take five points from Slytherin." Slughorn sounded genuinely sorry but Snape didn't care

"It wasn't my fault! Someone sabotaged me!" he cried undignified "It was Potter! ...Or… or one of his friends!" he pointed an accusatory finger at James who was still laughing on the floor with Sirius, Peter had now joined them.

"That's enough. You should make yourself responsible for your mistakes; I saw you talking with Miss Evans, you were distracted and see how it ended. I'm sure you will be more careful in the future Mr. Snape" Sanpe glared at everyone before storming off, Laila Evans went after him.

"And you boys, you should get going if you don't want to lose more classes than necessary, I'll alert your teachers of the... er... inconvenience" He ushered the four boys to the hallway and closed the door, probably to try and clean his beloved classroom.

The boys looked at each other and Remus found himself laughing manically, it hadn't been nice, not at all. Snape was so mad and it wasn't fair for him, but _he was so red! He looked ready to explode! _He had tried to help but it had turned out so wrong, _how had he forgotten he was absolute rubbish at Potions?_ It was so silly. Remus couldn't contain himself.

James spoke.

"It was awesome! Your awesome! I wouldn't have been able to explode it like that! Slughorn actually took points from Slytherin! And Snivellus' face! It was so red! It was beautiful! How did you do it?" the three boys stared expectantly at him.

"I... I... I only... I...um...It... It was an accident" Remus stuttered pathetically, god he hated stuttering. He only stuttered when he was nervous. They kept staring, oh no, why had he said that? They made him nervous. Well it was the truth but he had most definitely lost his best and maybe only chance to make friends. Then, James busted out laughing, followed by Sirius and a little nervous laugh by Peter.

"You heard him? Hahaha... He...hahaha...he is awesome by accident!" James managed to say trying to subside his laugh. Remus wasn't sure what that mean so he only gave a small smile.

He finally succeeded in subsiding his laughter long enough to extend his hand and say.

"James Potter, I know we already met but I hadn't introduced myself"

It was as if Remus was seeing him for the first time, everything on him radiated charm and confidence, he had a smile on his face, his whole face; his mouth, his cheeks, his eyes. He had the presence that appeared to say "_I'm here and you should be happy about it!" _like he was arrogant but had the right to.

_No one has the right to be arrogant_, thought Remus mustering his courage. And he spoke.

"Remus Lupin" He said and took James' hand

Black introduced himself too "I'm Sirius but you already know that" he shrugged. Sirius was the very definition of pureblood. He was slightly leaning back into nothing with the natural grace of a pureblood, his hands on his pockets, his hair so lustrous, Remus had only seen girls with hair like that, and his eyes seemed to mock the air. "And he is Peter" he said pointing his thumb at Peter.

"Yes I know." The following two seconds of uncomfortable silence, at least for Remus, were thankfully ended by Sirius.

"We need to get rid of this… stuff… " he said eyeing the slime on his arms.

"I don't know, it's funny" James had formed a ball with the stuff and was currently playing with it like it was clay.

"C'mon, we have to clean it before Transfiguration" Sirius said, dragging James by the uniform.

Peter and Remus followed, unsure of what to do. When they got to the Gryffindor Tower, the shower was occupied by Lucas Jackson, their other roommate. They didn't want to smear their beds with slime so they sat on the floor to wait.

"I hate waiting, we should do something" James was the first to spoke.

"I second the motion!" exclaimed Sirius

"But we're covered in slime" Remus argued. _I shouldn't have said anything! Now they'll think I'm boring._

"Well yes, it's disgusting, does anyone knows of something we could do without having to spread the slime?" James asked

"We… cou-ld… p… play Ex..plo…ding S…snap" suggested Peter.

Sirius made a face "We'll spread the slime in everything eventually."

They were silent for a minute before Remus had an idea.

"I brought some of my records and we could find a record-player" he suggested

James and Sirius weren't very enthusiastic about the idea.

"Music is not exactly _fun_" James tried to let Remus down easily but Sirius snorted, "If by that you mean brain melting boring then yes"

_What?_

"I'm sorry if you like it but it's just so boring" said an apologetic James.

"What?! But… but… what about The Who? The Rolling Stones? The Beatles?! You don't like _them?" _Remus couldn't believe it! Who didn't like music?

"What does a beetle has to do with music?" Sirius frowned

"Not a beetle, The Beatles… you don't know them?" the shook their heads except Peter who was now looking at James and Sirius as if they had grown a third eye.

"What's so especial about them?" Sirius sounded angry now; he wasn't fond of being out of the joke.

"You… you don't know The Beatles" Remus got up and opened his trunk muttering to himself all the while

James and Sirius shared a look "What's he going to do?" Sirius whispered and James shrugged

"They don't know…" he was going through his stuff "no, no, no... they're not ready… to soon… their heads would explode...they would die from the awesomeness…yes, this one"

Remus got out a big blue square with many little faces on it, he was smiling like a madman. Then his face fell again.

"I don't have a record player" His face had the typical expression of someone who realizes that the quill he is been looking for two hours was in his hand the whole time.

"I ha-ve… one" said Peter "but… but it… does…doesn't… wo-rk… he-re, I didn… didn't.. be…lie..ve my pa-re-nts… but I… I… tri… tri-ed, a-and… magi…magi-cal one-s do-don't wo-rk… with… m-mug-gle re-cord-s." He explained.

Well damn.

Remus sat down on the floor again, now annoyed. He was grumbling and he didn't even notice James and Sirius staring awkwardly at him; right now he didn't even care if they thought he was weird. _How was he supposed to survive without his music? _Wizarding music just wasn't as good.

"We could make it work" James spoke with a glassy look in his eyes, like he was looking at the possibilities.

"Explain" demanded Sirius, anxious for one of James' plans.

"We could fix Peter's muggle record player." James started "It'd actually be quite simple, we would only have to figure out what is magic interfering with and just take it out…" James got thoughtful at the last phase "or we could replace it with something magical or compatible…humm… we would need to examine the inside, do you reckon it works like a magical player? I once saw my dad repair his."

Sirius looked exited at the idea of disarming something but Remus beat him to it.

"I know how muggle players work! Peter can we use it?" He had the same look in his eyes that said he was conceiving a great idea (a slightly insane but brilliant look), Sirius though he quite enjoyed this side of their new friend.

Peter jumped at the opportunity "Of cour-se!" he went to fetch it from his trunk and the made space for it on the floor, Sirius flicked his wands and the green slime disappeared from the floor and from their hands.

"Why didn't you just…? Forget it" Neither James nor Peter commented on it so Remus let it go. _We have more important things to do._

Five minutes latter, when Jackson came out of the bathroom, tiny metal pieces were splattered all over the floor and the four boys were examining each a different one while muttering to each other.

"Er… guys the bathroom's free" he indicated but they ignored him except for Sirius who gave him a dismissing hand gesture. Luke shrugged and got down to the common room to wait for someone to accompany him to Transfiguration.

"Do you think it's the batteries?" Remus would say

"If we try to power it by magic it still doesn't work, I think the problem are the cables, magic players don't have any…" James would argue

It turned out not to be as easy as expected. Time passed and they didn't even notice.

"Ok just one more time…" James motioned for Peter to turn the player on.

For a second nothing happened, not even the funny interference sound at the beginning of a record, but then the player shot up red sparks from the compartment that had once been designated for batteries and the most beautiful sound they had ever heard filled their ears.

A Hard Day's Night started playing.

They were all transfixed, Remus and Peter couldn't believe they had done it, and James and Sirius couldn't believe their ears.

There was no way to describe it, it was nothing like Wizarding music, it wasn't boring at all, it was upbeat, and bold, and funny. It was so happy.

Sirius fell in love.

They were broken from the enchantment by a Seventh year, who opened their door.

"You should hide, Mcgonagall's searching for you" he said to Remus and looked at the player.

"Is that…? How did you make it work?" he crossed the room and got to his knees to touch the player, he appeared to be in some sort of trance but Peter smacked his hand "We've try, but it looked so complicated…I've missed muggle music so much. I…can I borrow it?" He was still dazed.

"Um… well it's Peter's" James answered

Benjy Remus-couldn't-remember-his-last-name, turned to Peter "Can I, no wait! Take it to the common room!" and he was gone as fast as he came.

The four boys looked at each other and a silent agreement passed between them, why not? With the outmost care in the world, they carried the player to the common room and placed it in one of the lower tables.

Benjy came from the seventh year boy's dormitories with a record on his hand and a friend trailing behind him.

"Can you put this one on?" Benjy asked.

"Is it true?" His companion doubted.

Sirius smirked and turned it on letting A Hard Day's Night flow through the common room.

The unknown boy's eyes widened. It also caught up the attention of the whole common room. It was amazing how fast news travelled, everyone started going through their stuff in search of records they had brought out of sentimentalism or other odd reasons. Soon every house was informed and raided; Hufflepuffs had proven to be a gold mine. People started requesting songs and begging them to please let them play just that one song.

The Gryffindor common room was over crowded when McGonagall came in. She was sure there hadn't been that many Gryffindors just yesterday. No one was paying attention at her, it looked like and improvised party had broken off for no apparent reason on a school night. She called for attention but the students ignored her. And one does not simply ignore Minerva McGonagall.

She sent out red sparks from the tip of her wand and her voice was magically amplified.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" she shrieked

Everyone jumped, spilled their drink, ducked, went for the floor, screamed, had a heart attack, or peed on their pants; it was a large crowd.

Someone had the presence of mind to remember that fidgeting with muggle devices was borderline illegal and stopped the music; the older ones got the message and tried to hide the player with their bodies.

"Everyone will return to their respective common rooms. Gryffindors, clean all this mess before going to your dormitories; this is no time for improvised parties!" They obeyed and soon she could recognize her Lions now that there weren't so many people in the room.

She spotted them trying to sneak upstairs with a big thing on their arms.

"Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, I can see you; you are not escaping that easily." In Remus ears her voice sounded as terrible as any evil witch from a muggle bed-time story's voice.

"Where were you for the last ten hours? Nobody saw you after Potions class… and what is that thing you are carrying?" she eyed the player.

"It's Peter's record player, it was broken and we were trying to fix it" James replied easily.

"We haven't have much luck" Sirius replied swiftly, his annoyance sounded so believable Remus wanted to protest; they had make it work!.

"Is that true Mr. Pettigrew?" She turned to Peter.

"The… they… off… off…offe…offere…off…offered, I… I… re…. re… reeea… reaaa-lly….appp…. appp…."

"Yes thank you Mr. Pettigrew" McGonagall was impatient; it would probably take hours before Peter finished his sentence. How weird, his stutter hadn't been nearly that bad and Remus had thought it had improved through the day… oh. Peter was _faking. _Or at least exaggerating, Remus was impressed; he had underestimated him. He looked at James and Sirius and saw they were thinking along the same lines. McGonagall called his attention though before he could share a look with them.

"Mr. Lupin?" She didn't elaborate, she just stared at him and it was pretty obvious what she was asking him.

"I… It's true Professor… James saw his father fix his once, I read an article on how they worked, and Sirius wand work is great." Remus tried to sound convincible, he hadn't lied after all and he was really only omitting the word muggle.

It was curious how Remus, always so responsible, hadn't even considered the trouble they would be in for altering a muggle device with magic, in Hogwarts grounds.

"Unfortunately in your haste to help your friend, you have forgotten to attend five of your six classes today. Mr. Potter, Mr Black: I believe you know what that means, perhaps you could enlighten your friends." She opened the portrait before turning to them "Friday, eight o'clock, my office." And without further add, she exited the common room.

_Detention_

Remus thought he should be upset but he found out he couldn't care less. He was _still_ covered in green sticky slime, he hadn't eaten since breakfast, he had broken rules he wasn't aware of, he had broken rules he _was_ aware of, he was given detention, and he couldn't care less.

"Don't worry mate we'll find a way out of it" said James "and if we don't we'll find a way to make it bearable, maybe even fun for you." continued Sirius.

"Thank... you" answered Peter

He had found friends, more importantly he had stuck with them, and even more importantly they had stuck with him.

"Listen guys I'll talk to McGonagall, it's the less I can do. I'm a prefect; I can't make her to let you go, but maybe I can convince her to let me supervise your detention" Benjy winked at them.

Yes, life was good.

* * *

So there it is, finally :D


	3. The Day McGonagall Should Have Known

**I'm back! The good news is I finally got a beta yey! Bad news, this chapter is still unbetaed :( worse news, I'm going back to school on tuesday :C I'll try to post the next chapter before that but I can't promise anything.**

* * *

_August 13, 2017_

_The Oracle_

_The Real Heroes, The First Ones_

_Nowadays, everyone knows that, at the end of the war, Voldemort was opposed only by a small amount of wizards in Britain; the majority of them belonged to a then secret organization called The Order of The Phoenix founded by the great Albus Dumbledore. But what most people ignore or forget is that the Order that defeated Voldemort, was not the same Order that fought him during his first rise._

_Little to nothing is know about the First Order of The Phoenix…_

_*.*.*_

"We need a plan" Sirius voiced the obvious.

"I know, let me think" James rested his back against trunk of a tree and closed his eyes trying to conceive a plan. His eyes snapped open as his always-reliable imagination saved him from doom one more time.

"We'll need the rest" James didn't have to elaborate.

"Should I alert the order?" Sirius asked already knowing the answer.

"Not until we have Lochte" Dumbledore might be a good man, but he was running a war and they had seen the cold side of him, he wouldn't risk five of his best soldiers to rescue a stubborn Auror.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, don't pass out. Do you have your puzzle piece with you?" Sirius asked

"I left it in my bag" James groaned

"Damn, we'll have to track you down the hard way"

"You just want an excuse to talk to Emmeline" James taunted weakly

Sirius snorted "Who needs her? I'm talking about myself"

"I know, just hurry" James broke the connexion before passing out

*.*.*

He was looking downwards and swinging his feet absently. His head hurt from over-thinking. Was it ever real? Had it meant anything? He needed a drink. Unfortunately, he would have to get up to find a bottle of firewisky. He placed his hands in his pockets and felt the small square again, this time pulling it out and examining it.

The half empty package of cigarettes stared back at him. He didn't smoke anymore. He didn't even like this brand. These weren't his cigarettes. There wasn't any reason he should be carrying them.

James tipped the cigarette with his wand and took a small smoke.

Why was he doing it? Maybe it was the nicotine, it was addictive after all. Maybe it was the memories, the good and the bad ones. Maybe he just wanted to feel. Or maybe he wanted to feel closer to him, but he shouldn't want and so he tried not thinking about the reason why he had been carrying the cigarettes; or why, after almost two years of quitting, he was smoking again. He tried to ignore the implications. It was probably just the nicotine.

*.*.*

James' knees were shaking, they shouldn't be. He didn't know why, he was certainly not nervous. James Potter didn't get_ nervous_. He told himself it was the emotion. The emotion of having the stuff, the very _illegal _stuff, hidden in their dorm at this very moment. Or maybe it was because of the rush he got when he thought about the things, the very _illegal_ things, they had done in orders to get it. Or maybe it was because of the way McGonagall was looking at them, like she knew and she was just trying to find the best way to prove it.

_She knows, _thought Sirius. But she couldn't! How could she? Oh no, they had been betrayed! He _knew _those morons wouldn't stay silent if questioned, they had probably already been incriminated (Could one be incriminated if one was guilty?). Or was it Peter? Wasn't he being convincing enough? Had it been James? Had it been too much pressure and had he confessed? _I'm being paranoid. _There just wasn't any way that she could possibly know… right?...right?!

_Breath, breath, look normal, breath, nonchalant, breath, don't talk, breath, breath, casual, breath. _Peter was trying to keep his thoughts simple, the less he thought about it, the less chance he had of screwing it. He shouldn't talk, he knew that if he did, his stutter would come back and then they would be lost. It was working; at least he thought it was. Now, if only McGonagall would stop staring at them _Smile… no it looks creepy, breath, breath…._

McGonagall was worried. What had they done? How terrible was it, that it made them nervous? Oh Merlin, this was worst than finding them plotting and whispering at the back of her lesson. Because then, she always knew what was coming: some kind of prank and a lot of sweet-talking to try and get out of detention; they _never_ got nervous because they too knew what was coming. If they were nervous that meant it was something new or something even them realized was _wrong. Oh, sweet Merlin. _She was examining them, maybe she could get it out of them, tell them confessing would lighten the punishment (even if it didn't), yeah like that would ever happen. In the end she decided that for better or for worse, she was bound to find out so the best she could do was try to prepare for it. She gave them one last warning to behave and continued her path to her chambers; she had an exorbitant amount of essays to correct.

The three boys let out the breaths they didn't knew they were holding and headed to their dorm.

James wasn't nervous. He would admit that he was worried, but never nervous. He wasn't worried of anyone finding out about the stuff, no the worst would be someone finding out what they had had to do to acquire it. It hadn't been hard smuggling the firewisky and they didn't even try it, well just a little; he didn't fell guilty about selling it, they needed the money and _they_ were _almost_ of age, well depending on your point of view; he had no regrets about contacting the creepy wizard who sold them the stuff, he sold the best stuff, supposedly; and he felt little to nothing about memory charming that first year who had heard them talking about it, he knew what he was doing, really; no, what James Potter worried about was the aftermath. He recognized the risks, they had done bad things, things in the grey area, but never had they done anything _illegal, not that they hadn't been planning on doing it, but still. _What if they were caught? And if they didn't even pull _this_ off how would they ever pull off transforming? What if McGonagall found out? What if it didn't work? _What if it was for nothing?_

James shook his head to get rid of the doubts before pulling Sirius and Peter inside the dormitory. Sirius was starting to look sick, paranoia was tearing him apart and Peter looked ready to collapse, it was a weird thought but James wondered if Peter shouldn't stop breathing so much.

Remus was resting on his bead, unable to sleep but not in good enough state to get up, a book tossed to the side, probably tried to read but couldn't concentrate.

"Remus! We bring food and gifts!" James plastered the best fake smile he could on his face and voice.

"Don't try to cheer me up, not even your believe yourself" Remus voice was smothered by his pillow.

_Damn._ He could always look right through them. Sirius got closer and asked him softly. "Aren't you hungry? You should eat Rem, you'll get weaker if you don't eat."

"I'll get lucky if I don't empty the contents of my stomach." He grumbled.

"But you haven't eaten anything" protested Peter.

"I believe in making my own luck."

"Don't be so sombre Rem, we have a surprise for you" James kept up the smiley façade.

"Don't call me Rem, or I tell the whole school about your middle name, no better, I'll make a banner and hang it in the Great Hall with a picture of you as a naked baby" Remus rolled over his side to face them.

"It's like PMSing" James observed

"It is PMSing, Pre Moon Syndrome" Sirius continued.

"You suck" Remus complained

"Rem, you will stop being a bitch when you see what we brought you" James accepted the brown paper bag Peter had taken out of one of the Marauders safes, meaning the loose board under his bead.

Remus only raised an unimpressed eyebrow. James handed him the bag.

"You brought me grass." He death panned.

James and Sirius face-palmed themselves and Peter rolled his eyes.

Peter threw his arms up and proclaimed "It's Gillyweed!" Remus kept his I'm-still-unimpressed face.

"You want me to go for a swim?" He asked

James and Sirius' jaws dropped. _Of course Remus didn't know. _James sighted and prepared himself to corrupt Remus just a little bit more.

"Gillyweed has many uses, one of them being the…er… exhilaration of the senses, it's also used with medical purposes." James thought it almost sounded innocent; he even made it sound respectable. He thought it would be best to get to the point before Remus asked more questions about that use. "It's known to help werewolf's with the side effects of the days surrounding the full moon" "PMSing" Sirius added as if using the correct term.

Now, Remus was impressed.

"It's not a cure, and it's not as cool as becoming animagi, but in the mean time we thought this could help" James continued softly.

"It better work, this thing it's not easy to come by" Sirius added when he thought the moment was getting too emotional.

"How does it work?" Remus was eager to prove it now.

As if on cue, Sirius started charming everything on the room, the quilts, the carpet, anything that could incriminate them and Peter immediately locked the doors, sealing them with magic. He opened the window.

"You're sure it's dark enough?" he doubted

"Nobody will notice anything" dismissed Sirius

Remus was eyeing the Gillyweed, now in James' possession; they would probably make tea, he just hope he wouldn't have to eat it.

James pulled out his wand, a piece of paper and some Gillyweed; he murmured something and the paper curled around the Gillyweed, wrapping it. He tipped the end of the roll and turned it on.

"Just relax and take a drag" he offered

"YOU WANT ME TO SMOKE IT?!" Remus' eyes widened.

"Er… yes" James answered; he knew it wouldn't be easy to convince Remus but he had hoped.

"No" Remus replied shortly

"C'mon Remus! It's totally with medical purposes" Sirius tried

"I'm not stupid, we'll get in trouble. Why did you sealed the door eh? I bet it might even be illegal." Remus was glaring at them.

James and Sirius tried to share a look but Remus caught them.

"So it is illegal! Do you have any idea in what amount of trouble we would be in if they find out?" Remus was scandalized.

"It's totally safe Remus! I'll try it first… see?" James said before having a coughing fit.

"I see"

Sirius snatched the improvised cigarette from James, hands. "Let me try" unfortunately it had the same results. Peter wanted to try but James and Sirius were too busy throwing their lungs out.

"You should put it out." Remus made a face.

James finally managed to breath and spoke "We're fine, right Sirius?" Sirius was still coughing but he nodded his head rapturously.

"Please Remus, we went through a lot to get hold of this, please just one drag, if you don't feel better we'll throw it out immediately, what do you say?" James was giving him the puppy eyes, ha! Remus was immune to it since first year.

Sirius was also giving him the puppy eyes. Unfortunately, he'd never been able to build up a resistance, and he doubted he would ever be. So Remus sighed and extended his hand. One smoke never killed anyone, right?

The first drag had him coughing furiously, the second wasn't as bad but he still felt like his throat would bleed any second now. They waited a few seconds before Remus complained, they hadn't dared to take another smoke but by then it wasn't necessary, the whole room was full of smoke. It was impossible, a single cigarette couldn't leave that much smoke; Remus suspected James.

"I don't think it's working, we should get rid of the smoke and this thing right now."

It seemed like they couldn't hear him.

"James! You promised… James?" Remus stood up from his bed and waved a hand in front of his friend's face. He was sitting on the floor looking lost in thought.

"Have you noticed how pretty this quilts are?" he grabbed them and shoved them on Remus face as if to demonstrate his point.

Remus gave him a look, not unlike the look that one would give to a lunatic

"Sirius, I don't think James is…." Remus stopped midsentence when he saw Sirius. He was raising his leg like a dog and he was about to pee on his bedpost.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Remus pushed Sirius before he started to pee. He slammed his head into the wall but seemed unperturbed by this fact.

"I've got it" Sirius said.

"Got what? And why were you trying to pee on your bed?" If Sirius had been on his right senses, he would have laughed at Remus' face.

"I've finally understood" and he stood in all fours. "I have to become one with it"

"What?!"

"I have to become one with the dog." And he proceeded to sniff the room, in search for the perfect spot to mark his territory.

"What dog? What's happening to you?!" It was that bloody Gillyweed, his friends had gone insane and it was that Gillyweed's entire fault. James had gone stupid and Sirius would have to live like a dog for the rest of his life. Remus tried telling himself it wasn't that bad; he would buy him a nice leash, take him out to the park, they could even play fetch! Remus had always wanted a pet.

He turned to face Peter, afraid of what he would see but in some bizarre way, he was happy when he saw Peter was only chewing on a sock. Then he started to choke. Remus panicked and hit him in the back repeatedly but the sock was still stuck. He tried the Heimlich maneuver and when that didn't work he dropped Peter to the floor and started punching him in the stomach.

"LIVE! GODDAMINT, LIVE!" he was using both fists together now.

"SPIT THAT SOCK OF SATAN!" He wouldn't let his friend die!

Peter was screaming, or whatever sound it was that a person does when screaming into a sock. He finally succeeded in getting Remus off him. It turned out that he had never being choking. Maybe Remus had been exaggerating a little.

_Have I gone crazy too?_ Oh well, if they threw them all to an asylum at least they would be together. _I wonder if I could paint my paddy walls? I don't like so much white._

Remus was interrupted from his wonderings by a delicious smell. The smell's call was answered by his stomach; it growled furiously. _I'm hungry. I must acquire food. _Food, food, food his head chanted or maybe it was his stomach. He followed the glorious smell and found the food his friends had brought for him.

If someone had entered to the Marauder's dorm in that moment, they would have called St. Mungus right away. James had given up examining his quilts in favour of examining the ceiling, with his tongue. Sirius was merrily claiming all his belongings. Peter was really choking this time, on the same sock I must add. And Remus was eating a chocolate cake with the finesse of a two year old.

Downstairs, Lucas Jackson was doing homework with his friend Silena.

"Do you think I can go up now?" he asked

"Two hours they said, I would give them at least three" she didn't look up from her parchment.

"You're right"

His sanity would thank him for the rest of his life.

* * *

**Now that I've managed to write two chapters and a preface, I feel confident enough that I won't leave this story unfinished. So by consequence I feel no remorse begging for reviews. **

**It's easier now, you don't even have to log in! :D **


	4. The Day Charlus Would Come To Uphold

**HELLO! Here it is :D**_  
_

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed, alert, favorited or just read**

**I wanted to make the Lochte part longer but I felt like the chapter was already too long, but in exchange we have a small introduction to two characters I particularly enjoyed writing, btw if you notice my two OCs fear not, they've passed more than two months in character development to avoid any Mary-sues.**

**This chapter is still unbetaed but I spent more time revising this one than the others.**

**Fun fact: Fact-checking is a pain you-know-where.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_August 13, 2017_

_The Oracle_  
_The Real Heroes, The First Ones  
... the First Order was kept secret thanks to the influence of Albus Dumbledore both in the Ministry and the various social circles; clerks intercepting information, Aurors cleaning up after the Order, Wizengamot members voting off enemies members, foreign contributors keeping an eye out for Death Eater activity all over Europe, purebloods with revolutionary ideas contributing financially, unknown members in the questionable and low circles. The Order was everywhere and yet their efforts weren't enough… _

*.*.*

Sirius grabbed their Marauders Bags and reached for his puzzle piece.

"Remus Lupin" He called out loud and the puzzle piece glowed a bluish light, Sirius Apparated away.

He found himself in a familiar hall. He spotted the other puzzle piece in the coffee table and took it. The lights were out and silence reigned, Remus was probably asleep. He climbed the stairs cringing at the noise they made. He opened the door and was welcome with a swift punch straight to the face.

"WHAT THE FUCK MOONY?!" He screamed holding his nose. "Am I bleeding?! You've disfigured me!"

"Sweet Merlin Sirius! You scared the crap out of me! Are you ok?" He tried to help Sirius but the animagus wouldn't let him touch him.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were a Death Eater!" He turned on the lights. "You're not bleeding. Quit whining, it's your own fault for scaring me."

"And you couldn't have stunned me like any normal wizard?" Sirius questioned.

"If you were a Death Eater you would have been ready for that." Remus reasoned "And what are you doing here alone? Where's James?" It wasn't rare that the Marauders would irrupt into each other houses in the middle of the night but normally if Padfoot decided to pay him a midnight visit he and Prongs would be together.

"We have trouble." Sirius face was complete, well seriousness.

After a quick explanation, Remus recollected various 'Marauder Items' while Sirius tried to reach Peter and Lily.

*.*.*

James contemplated his swinging feet. How high was he? McGonagall would probably have a heart attack if she saw him there. He chuckled at the thought. Truth was, James had never been afraid of heights. He loved them actually; it was partially one of the reasons he loved Quidditch so much. He enjoyed the felling of absolute freedom that came with flying.

He didn't feel a rush of adrenaline, nor he felt any fear of falling to a certain death, and he wasn't excited about risking his neck by sitting in the roof of the Astronomy Tower. What James liked so much about this place was the peace. It was so high, he felt detached of everyone else. Free. It was somewhere he didn't need to be anything, no Quidditch Captain, no Marauder Ringleader, no nothing, just _free_. Those things he enjoyed more than anything but a break from people staring at him, waiting for orders, instructions, directions, was nice. It was different with the Marauders of course, but Peter's praises sometimes got overwhelming.

It didn't annoy him; he knew he was born a natural leader. It was even expected of him as the Potter Heir. But sometimes people forgot he was just a teenager too. Teachers wanted him to use his natural talents to help his classmates, his parents wanted him to use it in politics, his _admirers_ wanted him to be what they couldn't, even Evans, the redhead wanted him to...what? Grow up? Be more mature? Stop annoying Sniv… Snape? Well he wasn't sure about what she wanted out of him but _everyone_ wanted something out of James and he had grown accustomed to it. He knew he couldn't please them all but he tried his hardest anyway. Top marks, Quidditch star, prankster, tutoring, countless hours of self imposed political study, he never complained. He was up for the challenge; it was easy, it was dangerous, it was tricky, it was _fun_. He enjoyed being the centre of attention, the best Gryffindor had to offer, but sometimes he just felt so _tired_.

It was nice to have a place he could be alone even if he had never before came alone, but the one person that would have been allowed to accompany James, wasn't welcome anymore.

*.*.*

The Platform was packed with parents waiting for their children to come home for the summer, they were anxious to hear what had been of their lives this school year, had they passed all their tests? Had they been eating well? Did they need a new cauldron? Had they gotten into trouble? The answer to this last question was particularly dreaded by the Potter Matriarch.

When the Hogwarts express finally opened his doors, Mrs. Potter stretched her neck in search of her only son. She hadn't seen him since Christmas and she had missed him so much it hurt.

She finally spotted him leaving the train, he was laughing with that adorable Potter laugh, three other boys were with him. One was small and sickly looking with light brown hair, the next one was blond and even smaller yet healthier looking, the last one was backwards from her but she could see he was about James height with long black hair. _I hope James doesn't get any ideas. He is not allowed to have long hair._ She had enough already with her own hair to be tending to James' too.

She let them said goodbye before approaching James and giving him a big hug.

"Mom!" he complained

"It will be worse if you resist" knowing that the warning was truthful, he let her tousle his hair and guide him to the Apparition point.

Only a Potter could Apparate through the wards of Potter Manor, and as such, Mrs. Potter Apparated right into the hall.

"Do you want something to eat honey?" asked Mrs. Potter

"I ate something at the train, I'm not hungry. Where's dad? Is he on assignment?" James answered with more questions.

"No, he is at the Wizengamot" Mrs. Potter called for 'Dinky' and a little house elf appeared to take James' trunk to his bedroom.

"Tell me about your year honey. How was it? Did you make friends in all the houses?" His mom was bombarding him with questions.

"Chill mom, it was pretty amazing. I made a lot of friends but my best friends are Gryffindors." James answered shortly but Mrs. Potter knew he was dyeing to tell her everything; his letters had been vague and short even if they had been constant. He had always preferred to say things face to face.

"So you had fun?" she prodded a little.

"I had so much fun!" James exploded "We did all sorts of things together! Remus is so smart, I mean really, really smart. He always has a fun fact about everything and he knows all these random things. Once I got trapped inside armour and he talked to me for two hours straight about armours, shields and swords and it was even interesting!"

"What were you doing inside an armour?!" Mrs. Potter interrupted

"We were just trying to scare Peter" James made a dismissive hand gesture, "Peter is my other roommate, he is the smallest of us. He has a stutter and the Slytherins were always bullying him but we rescued him, and his stutter has improved since then. He is great at creating alibis and excuses… er… I mean…" James ran a hand through his hair searching for the right way to talk his way out.

"…he... he…. He is great for Sirius! He helps keep his ego in check, 'cause Sirius, he tends to forget not everyone is as talented as us, Peter actually needs to study and Remus too, he is rubbish at Potions. He gets the theory but somehow his brews always end up exploding…"

"Who is Sirius?" Mrs. Potter interrupted again.

"Sirius is my best friend mom! Don't you read my letters?" She did read his letters, in fact, she had read them so many times that she had actually memorised them but James had never really described his friends; he had only wrote to her about their adventures.

"I know who he is honey, I just want you to tell me more about him." She elaborated

"He is, well Sirius, I can't really describe him. He is so… active. He can't stand still for even minute and he is always up for a prank, doesn't matter how small. He used to be a little creepy, he was, I don't know angry or something at the start of the year, but he's ok now. Everybody loves him. How can anybody not like Sirius Black? He grasps things really quickly, he is the only one who can keep up with me; even Remus struggles. He is my best friend, obviously. Can they come here for the summer? At least Sirius mom, please! I swear you're going to love him. Once he…" But Mrs. Potter had stopped listening.

_Black._

_Sirius Black. _

Her son's best friend was a Black. Worse, her son's best friend was the Black Heir. Worst her son wanted the Black Heir to come to her home.

She couldn't allow it.

"…and then McGonagall told him he could stuff his love in his…" James' tale was interrupted by his mom calling his attention.

"James honey, I don't think Sirius will be coming here this summer." She said.

"…what?... Do you think his parents won't let him come? Can't you talk to them? Please mom, I'm sure they'll be fine with it once you talk to them." James was confident in his parents' influence.

"No James, what I mean is that he can't come."

"…why?" He couldn't comprehend how her mom was denying him something so simple. She had been the first to tell him to invite his friends over for the summer!

"Because I say so! Now go to your room." Mrs. Potter almost cringed at how similar she sounded to her own mother but she controlled herself.

James was astounded, he had never been denied anything he really wanted and even if his parents were reluctant at first, they would give in if he asked nicely. His mom wasn't being reasonable.

"Fine! But I'm not leaving Sirius in there! I'll talk to dad once he gets home, he'll understand." James crossed his arms and got up to his room.

"What do you mean you're not leaving Sirius in there?" James' mother thought out loud.

"His parents are horrible mom! Please, you've got to let him stay! Just a couple of weeks! We'll stay in my room and we won't be any trouble, I swear." James would be dammed if he didn't get Sirius out of there, he had promised. He had trusted in his parents influence to help him, he had never thought the Blacks could be more powerful. Was that it? Was her mom forbidden by some bizarre pureblood belief to house the Black Heir? James had always hated the politics that came with being an Heir. Sirius had too, and they had been miserable together, just another thing they could bond over. After all, misery loves company.

"James you are overreacting, they are obviously strict but they are his parents, they want what is best for him." Dorea Potter, once Dorea Black, tried to appease her child but she knew how hard a Black upbringing was, she had endured it herself and she also knew how horrible Walburga and Orion were; the Blacks were a close-knitted family and all the children who were less than ten years apart were raised together. Her mother had fought for her right to be raised with the main line of the family and she had a very good idea of how awful could the heir's upbringing be.

"Please mom just give him a chance, you won't regret it, please." James was using his deadly weapon, his puppy eyes, but that wasn't what touched Dorea.

_Give him a chance._ Those were almost the exact same words his husband had used with his own parents. Charlus parents hadn't been happy when he announced he was marring a Black but they had given her a chance to prove she wasn't like the rest of her family, that she wasn't a conceited dark pureblood harpy. Charlus words resounded through her head. She hadn't deserved it, she had done nothing worth of what they gave her, all her life she had never known the true meaning of family and the Potters had opened their arms at her. _Give her a chance._

Dorea Black had her eye on Charlus Potter since fifth year, she had never actually talked to him and she didn't find him particularly attractive. Of course there were many girls that would die for an opportunity to go out on a date with him but none of them was as desperate, I mean, as _decided_, as Dorea.

She had her eye on him since her father told her to find a suitable husband or else he would. Dorea didn't house any delusions of her parents allowing her to marry any boy she fell in love with, neither did she had any illusions of finding the perfect boy, she couldn't care less about silly girly things like weddings or babies, and she didn't give a damn about marring into a respectable pureblood family. But Dorea Black was no idiot, she knew she needed a husband if she wanted to survive in this society and that she needed someone who wouldn't keep her subjugated; basically someone she could control and mainly someone she could live with for the rest of her life. And Charlus Potter filled the bill quite nicely.

He was a pureblood, from a family as old as the Blacks, he was the heir of the main line, he was handsome, he at least seemed intelligent and even thought she had never had an actual conversation with the bloke he had always been nothing if not polite to her and anyone who deserved it. He had had many girlfriends, but surprisingly none of them had anything bad to say about him. In short, he was the perfect gentleman. And he had an added bonus. Since he was a Potter, if she was to marry him, her family would either leave her alone or both families would reconcile (the latter sounded highly improbable), they wouldn't disown her nor burn her off the family tree because Charlus couldn't be richer or have purer blood had he been a Black himself.

He was an exceedingly coveted bachelor; pureblooded, rich, smart, Quidditch Captain, and prefect, but Dorea was a Slytherin and a Black, and she had been raised for this. And of course, she didn't want her father to marry her to some stupid self-centred random pureblood from a minor line (she might have not cared about blood status but she had her pride). She had been prepared for this kind of thing her whole life; she had endured countless hours of tedious studies and torturous training, pointless lessons with abhorrent teachers and memorised an insane amount of etiquette rules. She had a plan and she was ready.

Falling in love had never been part of the plan.

But that's a story for another time.

Over the years, she had kept in touch with her family mostly by owl but she and Charlus had gone only to a small number of family gatherings, never taking James with them. She hadn't kept in touch because she wanted or because she missed them, Merlin no, but she was a Slytherin and as such, she knew being a Black could have its advantages. But she had never thought she would be asking for a favour to her former family.

After James' pleas, to both his father and her, Dorea and Charlus had a talk; a long and exhaustive talk that had her stirring bad memories long buried and forgotten. Then she had passed two hours composing the letter that she would undoubtedly come to regret sending. She had sported the letter with the Potter crest and tied it to the family owl two days ago. Their fate had been sealed.

She knew how favours in the pureblood circles work so she hadn't been at all surprised when her answer arrived. What they were so subtly demanding as retribution. It was her worst fear. She had work so hard to keep him out of reach. They always had a believable excuse as to why he never went to the Black gatherings even if everybody knew it was a lie; she had squeezed their way out of raising him with his Black cousins; she had managed to keep him free of any of the traditional Black betrothal contracts, his last name protecting him of almost any Black influence, that is until now, of course. Her worst nightmare was coming true.

They would obviously ask for the one thing Dorea had denied them, for the one thing they could not get. They wanted James. Walburga was inviting them to dinner to "discuss the terms" of the Potter's invitation to Sirius. An eye for an eye, an heir for an heir. She couldn't accept, it was just physically impossible for her. Tears of frustration filled her eyes but they did not fell.

_Give him a chance._

It was just a dinner, she and Charlus would be there. There was no way James could be harmed. Right?

_Give her a chance._

Sirius better be worth it.

.

The cause of Dorea's headaches was locked in his room. He was grounded for the whole summer for being sorted in Gryffindor. His parents were so ashamed that the Black Heir had ended up in Gryffindor they wouldn't even force him to sit through the routinely Black dinners with the various members of the high and mighty social circles. Such a disgrace should be shunned and hidden.

He had been eating in his room for two weeks now; he wasn't particularly bothered by this fact even if he was bored and lonely. What annoyed him most was not being allowed to see Regulus. He had missed the kid like crazy and he was the only family member he could stand and actually saw more than twice a year. He hadn't seen Dromeda since he was nine and his uncle Alphard only came for Christmas and their birthdays. He couldn't blame him; Sirius would too avoid his family as much as him if he could.

He was entertaining himself doing fun charms, some sparks, levitating some stuff and switching the lights at the same time, man was he bored. He heard footsteps approaching his door and quickly hid the evidence that he had been having a small amount fun and not being miserable like he was supposed to.

His mother opened the door and scowled at him.

"Scum, get dressed, you have to be ready at five." She closed the door again without any other explanation.

Sirius fumed, he had almost managed to forget his new nickname. _Scum. _His mother had reasoned that if he was consorting with the Gryffindor scum (and _enjoying_ it); he was too, by default, scum and he would be treated as such, maybe that way he would learn his lesson. The new regime had included an isolation arraignment so as to not contaminate his brother who would be attending Hogwarts next year, a diet based in wastes which wasn't so bad because purebloods had an interesting concept of wastes, daily corporal punishment sessions administered by his father's wand only, which _was_ bad but not bad enough to have him regretting getting into Gryffindor, and the loss of his right to be called with such a upright name. He was no longer Sirius Black; he was Scum now.

If his mother thought he would behave like the perfect pureblood Heir they wanted, she could forget it. He wouldn't be the curious circus monkey for a Ministry lapdog again. His parents had showed him off at every given opportunity when he was younger. His talents with charms and transfiguration were always praised. Give him a wand! They would say. And he will perform things no other five year old can! They would insist. He had been the Blacks pride and joy; no, he knew the truth. He had been a sight, an opportunity to show off.

He wouldn't go to the dinner. On the other hand, he could go and make the most of it. Talk a little bit to Reg, maybe convince him to get into Gryffindor with him; scare whatever ministry employee they had managed to lure into this dark lair and have him spreading the gossip of the savage Black Heir. Oh he would enjoy it.

_Time to get ready_. He thought.

By the time his mother came to get him, he was dressed in his best robes and groomed like the perfect gentleman he wasn't. He _looked _like the ideal pureblood son, not even his mother could find a fault in his disguise. They descended the stairs to the main hall were they received the visits. Sirius mind was pouring with ideas. What should he do first? Should he scream like a maniac? Should he pretend to have an imaginary friend? Maybe he should lick the bloke, yes, that would disgust him, his face would be priceless. His brother was brought after him and his mother was keeping a watchful eyen on both of them, making sure they couldn't even look at each other.

At exactly five o'clock, the doorbell rang.

All of Sirius' ideas were dropped at the sight of their visitors. James was standing there, James was standing in his doorframe, James was greeting his parents, James was entering into this shit hole. He barely registered the two adults that accompanied him. He had to get James out of here. The idea of James in this prison was unconceivable. He had to get James out of here.

His mind was racing when James spotted him. He had a huge grin in his face. Didn't he realize where he was? Grimmauld Place was not a place were normal people smiled; of course, if someone could smile at Grimmauld Place it would be James Potter. James was calling his name, something he had never though he would miss so much.

"Sirius can you hear me? You are not hallucinating. It's really me!" James was still grinning, the idiot.

"That is exactly what an hallucination would say." Sirius replied smoothly.

He remembered his manners, the same manners that had been engraved in blood within his brain, and greeted James' parents. He gave James' father a handshake and he kissed his mother's hand, pulling her down as he released her reaching for her ear.

"Get him out of here." Sirius was sure nobody else had heard and he had been as quick and as deft as he could in his movements. He didn't know what he would be able to do, but alerting James' parents had seemed like his best chance.

.

She had to get James out of here. She was fighting against her instincts from the moment Walburga opened the door. James was walking into Grimmauld Place, the ancestral house of the Blacks. Eleven years of effort vanished into thin air.

Walburga and Orion introduced them first to Regulus, their youngest and next came Sirius who looked dazed, but James managed to get his attention. He greeted his husband first with a handshake and a 'Pleased to meet you, sir.' Then she extended her hand for him to kiss it like any pureblood would but he surprised her with his next course of action.

"Get him out of here." His voice was full of concern and verged on panic. It was obvious he was talking about James.

He didn't seem annoyed at all by James, all the contrary. It appeared like he had been living on a desert and James had showed up with cool water and fresh clothes, even better, he had brought butterbeer and rain with him. He was worried about James; he was trying to protect James.

That made her take a decision. How many decent family members did Sirius had left? She tried remembering. There was Alphard, but he was always travelling and keeping his distance from them, she communicated with him constantly by owl and the occasional floo call but he would certainly avoid Walburga and Orion like the plague. There was Dromeda but she was disowned almost three years ago. There was also Cissa but if Sirius were anything like she imagined, Cissa wouldn't talk to him at all. Sirius deserved at the very least this dinner.

The dinner ran smoothly, with Orion and Charlus discussing official business, Walburga and Dorea exchanging the dirt and gossip they had on everyone and the kids entertaining themselves. Regulus was reading a book and ignoring his brother while James was happily talking Sirius ears out.

Dorea had noticed something funny. Hers and Walburga's conversation had been subtly stirred by Sirius. She was sure Walburga hadn't noticed, she herself would have noticed had she not been looking for it. Sirius knew that the two women were listening into his and James' conversation so he had been mentioning people that had been punished or given detention though the year, which sprung conversation on his parents. It was entirely possible that it had not been his intention and Walburga was doing it on purpose. But the looks he was giving her told otherwise.

It looked like he was begging her to keep the conversation going. Keep his mother occupied. He was trying to keep James off the spotlight; he was trying to shield him from his family. Sirius' first instinct had been protecting James. And in Dorea's book that was more than worth a chance.

Charlus Potter was a righteous man. He was a Senior Auror and a member of the Wizengamot. He had inherited his seat from his father when he retired and ever since, Charlus had led a very clear political agenda. He had fought for egalitarian laws between muggleborns and purebloods, trying to eliminate all the old and obsolete laws from his ancestor's time. He struggled to overturn more restrictive laws for half-breeds and delay the ones that passed. It was a hard and arduous work but someone had to do it. He had lived through Grindelwald's reign and had seen with his own eyes the horrors of the war; he had been witness to what a pureblood despotism entailed. He wanted to change it, he knew it would be a difficult path but he was decided. Charlus Potter was essentially an idealist.

Evidently, his views and personality clashed with those of Orion Black.

But Charlus was a diplomat and he had been able to hold a civil conversation with the wizard, even if he was forced to ignore certain offences to his views; it was not like he hadn't made his own remarks on Orion's beliefs. Both had been delicately hinting how much they despised the other.

Neither the Potters nor the Blacks had made any mention of the original cause for the dinner. That is why Charlus was dumbfounded when Orion finally dropped his price.

He hadn't been expecting it at all.

He had thought the Blacks would demand and exchange of course, but it hadn't been what he had been expecting. He had expected them to try and 'invite' James to stay at Grimmauld Place, to ask them for James to take lessons with the rest of the Black kids. He had been prepared. Millions of excuses ready, tons of handy pre-arranged compromises but as always Black had surprised him.

As a Potter he had been raised to fight the Blacks and many other Dark Families. He had studied their tactics and their strategies; he knew how they thought. _Know your enemy. _So many years of experience fighting Orion through the Wizengamot and he hadn't seen this coming. It was the perfect plan.

_Pass the law and I will let you have Sirius_.

Of course he hadn't said it explicitly but his voice resounded in Charlus' head as if he had. The words had been so eloquently placed that Charlus hadn't even noticed Orion's offer until two minutes latter. The law in question would allow high-ranking ministry officials to hire their employees according to their particular needs at their own discretion. Meaning that purebloods in power would be able to fire muggleborns for no reason without having to justify their actions or being reprimanded.

Ha had made a terrible miscalculation. He thought Orion would protect his heir at all cost; he had never imagined that he would want to get rid of Sirius. He couldn't accept. If he voted in favour, some of the wizards he had convinced to abstain would follow his lead and his and Albus already fragile strategy would fall apart. The worst part was that he would even be able to alert his friend. Albus Dumbledore was currently recruiting his new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and would return to England only for the Wizengamot session tomorrow.

And so by the end of the night, he and his family said their goodbyes and Apparated to the Potter residence without having achieved anything.

But for the second time in the night he was surprised.

His wife was determined to get Sirius out of Grimmauld Place. He wasn't sure why but he suspected she had seen something in Sirius, maybe the same something she had seen in herself. The absolute resolution to be separated from their family; to detach themselves from the Darkness. But even with her wife pleas, he knew he wouldn't vote in favour. He couldn't fail himself like that.

The next day he got up early, before everyone else, he had breakfast in the kitchen (only a cup of tea and a piece of toast), and he Apparated away to the Ministry. He took the elevator to his floor and changed into his plum-coloured robes (how he hated the colour, he had suggested changing it numerous times but he had been ignored). He chatted with some of the witches and wizards there and headed for his seat. He passed Orion on his way and gave him an acknowledgement nod. He heard the same introduction he heard in every session, he listened attentively to the order of the day and calmly waited for his turn to speak. He listened again the law he planned to overturn and he saw the Court Scribe record every word spoken. He heard the Chief Warlock call for order and ask everyone in favour to raise his or her hand.

And so he did.

He hadn't been able to examine Sirius by himself but everyone deserved a chance. He was giving the kid a chance to prove himself just like his parents had given Dorea a chance. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing for the wrong reasons because he was thinking more about his son's face illuminating when he saw his friend last night and his wife's determination to get to know the boy than what actually giving Sirius a chance would entail.

He was disgusted with himself. He was unable to look at Albus in the eyes and give him an explanation. He fled the room as soon as the law was passed and only stopped for a quick talk to Orion to arrange the details of their deal. He had work all his life to prevent this kind of laws and he had failed. He had been just another selfish pureblood working for their personal benefit.

But five weeks latter when Sirius arrived to Potter Manor with the appearance of someone who had wage a long battle, while the two boys practiced Quidditch to get into the house team, and with the house full of laughter; Charlus Potter knew that he had made the right decision.

* * *

**I'm still a little bit unsure at the ending, but I think it was my best one.**

**REVIEW PLEASE :D**

**don't care if it's anonymous, just do it.**


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